Fountain pen filling means



PARKER 1,910,495

2 Sheets-Sheet l May 23, 1933. C. P.

FOUNTAIN PEN FLLING MEANS Filed May 5l, 1930 May 23, 1933. c. P. PARKERFOUNTAIN PEN FILLING MEANS Filed May 3l, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet .2

Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES CECIL PAUL PARKER, OF vEVAINSIN',ILLINOIS ynoulx'rarn 'PEN application .inea my s1,

The general objects ofthe 'invention are to provide means forautomatically filling a fountain pen; to provide a comb-ined pen supportand automatic filling means; to provide a combined ink well, fountainpensupport and pen filling means; and lto provide a combined ink welland pen illing means which is operable to fllthe pen :automatically bymerely depressing the pen towardthe ink lo well.

Another object of the invention is :to produce a novel fountain pen deskset which comprises a base containing yan ink well, a tubular supportingdev-ice mounted on said 515 base and adapted to receive and hold afountain pen, the lowerl .end of said supportingfdevice being `so.associated with the ink well that the pen point may be dipped into theink in said well while the pen is held in said sup- 29 porting device.

More specifically stated, in accordance with the preferred embodiment ofthe invention, an object is to provide, in association with an ink well,means to receive and support a fountain pen, said means being .soconstructed that the self-.filling mechanism of the pen itself will beautomatically operated in the axial movement of :the pen with respecttoy the ink well.

Another object is to provide a device .of this character which embodiesan ink well in communication with rthe fountain pen support, an inkreservoir communicating with said well, and means to maintain a uniformlevel of ink in said well.

Another object `is to provide a device of this character in which thesupport for the fountain pen is connected through the medium of a. pivotor swivel with the ink well or the base of the device so as to permitsaid support and the pen therein to ext-end at various angles ofinclination.

Other and .ancillary objects and advantageous features of the inventionwillbe understood from the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view show- 150 ing one :exemplary formof device embodying FILLING MEANS 1930. :Serial No. 457,903.

the features of my invention, the parts occupying their normal -orinactive position.

Fg. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the parts in a differentposition in which the fountain pen has been depressed almost, but notquite, to its lower limit of movement.

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views in the planes of linesift-3 and 4-4 -respectively of Fig. 1. n

Fig. 5 is Ia view showing the ink well and ink reservoir in Verticalsection and the fountain pen lsupport or socket in elevation.

- Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view in the plane of line 6-6 of Fig.5.

Figs. 7 and 8 are vertical sectional views showing two modified forms offountain pen supports a-nd ink wells constructed to permit the pensupport to occupy universally different positions or angles ofinclination relative to the ink well.

Although my invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms and structural. arrangements, I have shown in the drawings andwill herein .describe in detail the preferred embodiment for the sake ofimparting an understanding of the features of the invention, but itshould be understood that no limitation is intended bythis disclosureand that I aim to cover in the appended claims all modifications,equivalents and alternative constructions falling within the scope ofthis invention, which I believe to be broadly new.

Most fountain pens have internal rubber sacks which are collapsed andthen permitted to expand and thereby draw up a charge of ink to fill.the pen. Pens made by differ-ent manufacturers vhave various devicesfor collapsing the ink sack. In the present instance I have chosen forillustration a fountain pen which is of the general type shown, forexample, in Patent No. 745,481, issued December 1,1903,to-ConklinPenCompany, but it is to Ybe understood that vthe principles of myinvention are adapted for use with many `other types `of pens, either inthe exact form as at present marketed or with slight modifications.

A brief description of the major features of that .form of my devicewhich is herein illustrated will facilitate an understanding of the moredetailed description which follows.

The device comprises an ink well above which is a tubular supportadapted to receive a fountain pen. The lower end of this support opensinto the ink well so that the pen point of the pen may be dipped intothe ink.. This pen support comprises two telescoping parts which arenormally held in their extended relation by a coiled spring. Twoinstrumentalities mounted respectively on the said telescoping parts arebrought into cooperation in the telescoping movement of said parts, andthe operation is such that merely by the act of depressing the fountainpen to dip its point into the ink one of said instrumentalities firstcollapses the ink sack of the pen and then, after the pen point isimmersed in the ink, releases the ink sack thereby permitting it toexpand and draw up a charge of inl; to fill the pen. The pen support mayhave a swivel or universal connection with the ink well so that the penmay extend at various angles o f inclination. In order that the level ofthe ink in the well may be kept constant, I preferably provide an inkreservoir from which the inl flows into the well, the flow beingcontrolled by a valve operated by a fioat in the well.

Referring now to the specific structure as illust-rated in the drawings,the device comprises a suitable base having an ink reservoir 10 (Fig. 5)and an ink well 11 communieating with each other through a passage 12and so related that ink will flow from the reservoir into well. rllheflow is controlled by a valve 13 carried by one end of a lever 14:pivoted at 15, the other end of the lever being forked to embrace anannular float 16 within the well 11 so that when the ink stands at acertain level in the well, the float will hold the valve 13 closed andwhen the ink level in the well is lowered, the float will descend andopen said valve to permit more ink to flow from the reservoir into thewell.

Rising from the well 11 is a fountain pen support preferably in the formof a tube or socket into the upp-er end of which a fountain pen may beinserted. The lower end of this pen support opens into the ink well topermit the pen point to be dipped into the ink. The pen supportcomprises the lower stationary section 17 rising from the cover for theink well and the upper section 18 which telescopes into said lowersection. A coiled spring 19 bears at its ends against shoulders on thetwo sections and tends to move the inner section'rupwardly to a positionin'which the pen point is above the ink, as seen in Fig. 1. A sleeve 2Osurrounds the' spring 19 and has its lower end fixed to the lowersection 17 of the pen support and its upper end slidably receiving theupper section 1 8. Suitable stop means is Vprovided for limiting theupward movement of the upper section and for preventing relativerotation thereof, the said stop means in the present instance beingshown in the form of a lug 21 turned inwardly from the upper end of thesleeve 20 to engage in a vertical groove 22 in the upper section. v l

The fountain pen herein shown is of the general type shown in Patent No.745,481 hereinbefore referred to, and it comprises the usual rubberin'ksack '2.3 which is collapsible by a bar 24 having a bow-shaped operator25 normally extending outwardly through the slot inthepen barrel. Thenumeral 26 (Fig. 2) indicates the usual ink duct leading from the inksack to the pen point 27.

The lower end of the upper section of the pen support has an inturnedflange 28 providing a shoulder against which the lower end of the penbarrel abuts, the pen point projecting beyond the lower end of thisupper section. The upper end of the upper section has a slot 30 open atits upper end to receive the operator 25 of the sack collapsing means.

A` lever 31 is pivoted at 32 on the upper section 1S and the upper endof this lever is positioned to` abut against the operator 25 of the pen,while the lower end of the lever is somewhat hook-shaped, being providedwith a cam face .33 and a shoulder 34. A spring 35 acting on the lever31 normally holds the lever in the position seen in Fig. 1 in which astop shoulder 3G on the lever abuts against the pen support. A dog 37pivoted at 38 in a recess in the lower section 17 of the support is invertical alinementwith the lever 31.l A suitable spring 39 normallyholds this dog in its outer position with a portion of the dog inabutment with a shoulder 40 in the support 17, but the dog is capable ofmoving inwardly to a retracted position substantially flush with theface of the support 17.

-In the normal position of the parts as viewed in Fig. 1 the devicesimply serves as a means for supporting a fountain pen on a. desk inconvenient position for use. Villien it is desired to fill the pen theoperator merely pushes downwardly on the pen or on the upper sectionlSof the support, and in the downward movement the cam face 33 ofthe lever31 rides o n the inclined end face of the dog 37 as seen in Fig. 2, withthe result that the upper end of the lever 31 pushes the operator 25 ofthe pen inwardly and collapses the ink sack. By this time the pen pointwill have been immersed in the ink as seen in Fig. 2, and upon a furtherslight downwardl movement of the pen, the cam face 3.3 vof the 'lever 31will ride off the dog 37 and the spring'35 will return the lever to itsnormal position as viewed in Fig. 1, whereupon the ink sack 23 willexpand and draw inlr from the well up into the sack through the duct 26in a manner well known. The operator preferably holds the pen in itsfully depressed position for a moment to give the ink time to lill theink sack, whereupon the manual pressure on the pen is relieved to allowthe upper section 18 to rise under the infiuence of the spring 19 untilthe parts are again in the normal position seen in Fig. 1. In thisupward movement the lower end of the lever 31 cams the dog 37 inwardlyof its way so tha-t the dog will not affect the position of the lever.

The charge of ink withdrawn from the ink well will lower the level ofink in the well and the lioat Valve will descend to open the valve 13and permit ink to flow from the reservoir 10 into the well until theproper level has again been established, when the float will close thevalve 13.

In Figs. 7 and 8 are shown two modified forms of connections between theink well and the lower section of the pen socket so as to permit the pensocket to swivel relative to the well and allow the pen to extend atvarious angles of inclination.

In Fig. 7 the lower section 17 of the pen socket has a ball 41 formedthereon which fits in a complementary recess in the upper end of thewell 11 and forms a closure for the well. A collar 42 fastened to thewell has an inturned flange at its upper end to fit the ball and hold itin place. An annular iiange 43 on the ball limits the swinging movementthereof by abutment with the collar 42.

In Fig. 8 the side walls of the ink well 11 are arcuate in shape andthey are embraced by inner and outer semi-spherical members 44 and 45which are fastened to an annular liange 46 on the lower end of the pensocket 17. The construction provides a universal mounting of the pensocket on the ink well and permits the socket to swivel in alldirections. The abutment of the flange 46 with the upper edge of the inkwell limits the swiveling movement.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a fountain pen having self-filling means, of anink well, a

Y tubular pen support through which the pen is insertable to dip itspoint into the ink in said well, and means associated with said supportand automatically movable upon axial movement of the pen relative tosaid well for actuating the self-filling means of the pen to cause theintroduction of a charge of ink from said well into said pen.

2. The combination of a fountain pen have ing` a body, a pen pointstationarily mounted relative to said body, an internal collapsible inksack, andcollapsing means including an operator Vprojecting externallyof said body; an ink well; a tubular pen support communicating at itslower end with said well; and means associated with said support andoperable in the movement of said body in the direction to dip said pointinto the ink for first depressing said operator of the pen to collapsesaid ink sack and for then releasing said operator to permit to expandand draw ink into the pen.

3. The combination of a fountain pen having an internal collapsible inksack and havi ing collapsing means including an operator projectingexternally ofthe pen; an ink wel-l; a tubular support adapted to receivea foun-v tain pen and communicating at its lower end with said ink well;and means associated with said support and operable in the movement theink sack Y of the pen downwardly to dipits point into the ink, saidmeans acting to engage said operator and collapse the ink sack as thepen is moved downwardly, said means also acting during continueddownward movement of the pen, and after the pen point is immersed in theink, to release said operator to permit the ink sack to expand and drawa charge of ink into the pen.

4. The combination with a self-filling fountain pen and an ink well, ofmeans engageable by the pen and automatically operable by movement ofthe pen into the ink well for first collapsing and then releasing theink sack in the pen.

5. The combination with a fountain pen having an ink sack andcollapsing-means therefor, of an ink well, and means associated withsaid ink well and including a. shiftable abutment arranged to be engagedin the movement of the fountain pen into the ink well for automaticallyoperating said collapsing means. y

6. The combination with a fountain pen having a collapsibleink sack andoperating means therefor, of an ink well, a support associated with saidink welll and adapted tov receive and hold a fountain pen, and shiftablemeans associated with said support and arranged to coact with saidink-sack-operating means and constructed to cause the ink sack toy befirst collapsed and then'released after the pen point is immersed in theink in said well.

7. The combination of an ink well, a support associated with said inkwell and adapt- Y ed to receive and support a fountain pen, 'and meansproviding a pivotal connection between said support and said ink well,said means being constructed to permit the passage of the pen point ofthe fountain pen therethrough to bedipped into the ink in saidcontainer.

8. The combination of an ink well, a tubular pen support associatedtherewith in which a pen may bel received and held, and a tubular swivelconnection at the lower end of said support through which the pen pointmay pass to be immersed in the ink in said well.

9. The combination of an ink well,`a yield- Iso for collapsing said inksack and including a ink well and arranged to receive a fountain pen andnormally support the pen with its point above the ink but yieldabledownwardly to permit the pen point to be dipped into the ink in saidwell, and means associated with said ink well and said support andarranged to engage a part of the filling device of a fountain penoccupying said support, said means acting during the continuous downwardmovement of the pen to actuate said filling device to first expel thecontents of the pen and then draw ink from said ink well into the pen.

10. The combination of an ink well, a

'Y yieldable tubular pen support associated with said ink well andarranged to receive a fountain pen. and normally support the pen withits point above the ink but yieldable downwardly to permit the pen pointto be dipped I into the ink in said well, and means mounted on saidsupport and arranged to engage a part of the filling device of afountain pen occupying said support, said means including a shiftableelement acting during the continuous downward movement of the pen toactuate said iilling device to first expel the contents of the pen andthen draw ink from said ink well into the pen.

11. The combination with a fountain pen p, of the type comprising a bodyportion composed of a barrel and a head stationarily mounted at thelower end of said barrel, a pen point mounted in said head, acollapsible ink sack in said barrel, means in said barrel partprojecting outwardly through an aperture in a part of said body; of anink well, a

tubular longitudinally yieldable pen support associated with said inkwell and arranged to receive the lower part of theL fountain pen andnormally support the pen in elevated position, said support yieldingdownward by manual pressure to carry the pen point downwardly in thewell, and means arranged to engage said projecting part of said ink sackcollapsing means and acting in the continuous downward movement of thepen to actuate said ink sack collapsing means to cause said sack to befirst collapsed and then expanded and thereby draw ink from said wellinto said pen.

12. The combination with a fountain pen of the type comprising a bodyportion composed of avbarrel and a head stationarily mounted at thelower end of said barrel, a pen point mounted in said head, acollapsible ink sack in said barrel,'means in said barrel for collapsingsaid ink sack by lateral pressure thereon, said means including a partprojecting laterally outward through an aperture in said barrel; of anink well, a tubular longitudinally yieldable pen support associated withsaid ink well and arranged to receive the lower part of the fountain penand normally support the pen in elevated p0- sition, said supportyielding downward by manual pressure to carry the pen point downwardlyin the well, and means mounted on said pen support and including amovable operator arranged to engage said projecting part of saidink-saclr-collapsing.means and acting in the continuous downwardmovement of the pen to actuate said ink-sackcollapsing means to causesaid sack to be first collapsed and then expanded and thereby draw inkfrom said well into said pen.

13. The combination with an ink well of a tubular pen socket associatedtherewith and arranged to receive and support a fountain pen, saidsocket comprising an outer stationary section, an inner tubular sectionslidable therein and having an internal shoulder against which the lowerend of the pen body abuts with the pen point projecting below the end ofsaid inner section, spring means coacting with said sections arranged tohold the inner section in elevated position but permitting said innersection to be moved downwardly by manual pressure upon a pen therein todip its point in the ink in said well, means movably mounted on saidinner' section arranged to operate the filling device of a fountain pen,and means mounted on said outer section for actuating the last mentionedmeans in the downward movement of the inner section to cause thefountain pen filling device to be first collapsedV and then expandedduring the continuous downward movement of the pen while in said socket.

14. lThe combination of an ink well, a tubular socket associatedtherewith and arranged to receive and support a fountain pen, saidsocket comprising relatively shiftabl'e sections with interposed springmeans to hold the pen supporting section normally elevated, and meanswhich is automatically actuated by the downward movement of the pensupporting section for operating the filling device` of a fountain pentherein to draw a charge of ink into the pen from said well.

15. In combination, a self-filling fountain pen having a member toactuate its self lilling mechanism, an inkstand having a pen opening, asleeve cap thereon having a slot for receiving and guiding' said memberwhen the pen is inserted in the inlrstand, a lever pivoted on the capand extending across said slot to automatically operate said member whenthe pen is inserted, means for holding said lever in a normal operativeposition, said lever being adapted to move out of the path of said penmember when the pen is withdrawn and means for causing said lever toagain assume its normal position thereafter.

VIn testimony whereof, I have hereunto aiiixed my signature.

CEOIL PAUL PARKER.

